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DcuS is a membrane-associated sensory histidine kinase of Escherichia coli specific for C(4) -dicarboxylates. The nature of the stimulus and its structural prerequisites were determined by measuring the induction of DcuS-dependent dcuB'-'lacZ gene expression. C(4)-dicarboxylates without or with substitutions at C2/C3 by hydrophilic (hydroxy, amino, or thiolate) groups stimulated gene expression in a similar way. When one carboxylate was replaced by sulfonate, methoxy, or nitro groups, only the latter (3-nitropropionate) was active. Thus, the ligand of DcuS has to carry two carboxylate or carboxylate/nitro groups 3.1-3.8 A apart from each other. The effector concentrations for half-maximal induction of dcuB'-'lacZ expression were 2-3 mm for the C(4)-dicarboxylates and 0.5 mm for 3-nitropropionate or d-tartrate. The periplasmic domain of DcuS contains a conserved cluster of positively charged or polar amino acid residues (Arg(107)-X(2)-His(110)-X(9)-Phe(120)-X(26)-Arg(147)-X-Phe(149)) that were essential for fumarate-dependent transcriptional regulation. The presence of fumarate or d-tartrate caused sharpening of peaks or chemical shift changes in HSQC NMR spectra of the isolated C(4)-dicarboylate binding domain. The amino acid residues responding to fumarate or d-tartrate were in the region comprising residues 89-150 and including the supposed binding site. DcuS(R147A) mutant with an inactivated binding site was isolated and reconstituted in liposomes. The protein showed the same (activation-independent) kinase activity as DcuS, but autophosphorylation of DcuS was no longer stimulated by C(4)-dicarboxylates. Therefore, the R147A mutation affected signal perception and transfer to the kinase but not the kinase activity per se.

The function of the response regulator DcuR of the DcuSR fumarate two-component sensory system of Escherichia coli was analysed in vitro. Isolated DcuR protein was phosphorylated by the sensory histidine kinase, DcuS, and ATP, or by acetyl phosphate. In gel retardation assays with target promoters (frdA, dcuB, dctA), phosphoryl DcuR (DcuR-P) formed a high-affinity complex, with an apparent K D (app. K D) of 0·2–0·3 μM DcuR-P, and a low-affinity (app. K D 0·8–2 μM) complex. The high-affinity complex was formed only with promoters transcriptionally-regulated by DcuSR, whereas low-affinity binding was seen also with some DcuSR-independent promoters. The binding site of DcuR-P at the dcuB promoter was determined by DNase I footprinting. One binding site of 42–52 nt (position −359 to −400/−410 nt upstream of the transcriptional start) was identified in the presence of low and high concentrations of DcuR-P. Non-phosphorylated DcuR, or DcuR-D56N mutated in the phosphoryl-accepting Asp56 residue, showed low-affinity binding to target promoters. DcuR-D56N was still able to interact with DcuS. DcuR-D56N increased the phosphorylation of DcuS and competitively inhibited phosphoryl transfer to wild-type DcuR.

The two-component regulatory system DcuSR of Escherichia coli controls the expression of genes of C(4)-dicarboxylate metabolism in response to extracellular C(4)- dicarboxylates such as fumarate or succinate. DcuS is a membrane-integral sensor kinase, and the sensory and kinase domains are located on opposite sides of the cytoplasmic membrane. The intact DcuS protein (His(6)-DcuS) was overproduced and isolated in detergent containing buffer. His(6)-DcuS was reconstituted into liposomes made from E. coli phospholipids. Reconstituted His(6)-DcuS catalyzed, in contrast to the detergent-solubilized sensor, autophosphorylation by [gamma-(33)P]ATP with an approximate K(D) of 0.16 mm for ATP. Up to 7% of the reconstituted DcuS was phosphorylated. Phosphorylation was stimulated up to 5.9-fold by C(4)-dicarboxylates, but not by other carboxylates. The phosphoryl group of DcuS was rapidly transferred to the response regulator DcuR. Upon phosphorylation, DcuR bound specifically to dcuB promoter DNA. The reconstituted DcuSR system therefore represents a defined in vitro system, which is capable of the complete transmembrane signal transduction by the DcuSR two-component system from the stimulus (fumarate) to the DNA, including signal transfer across the phospholipid membrane.

Bacteria contain secondary carriers for the uptake, exchange or efflux of C4-dicarboxylates. In aerobic bacteria, dicarboxylate transport (Dct)A carriers catalyze uptake of C4-dicarboxylates in a H+- or Na+-C4-dicarboxylate symport. Carriers of the dicarboxylate uptake (Dcu)AB family are used for electroneutral fumarate:succinate antiport which is required in anaerobic fumarate respiration. The DcuC carriers apparently function in succinate efflux during fermentation. The tripartite ATP-independent periplasmic (TRAP) transporter carriers are secondary uptake carriers requiring a periplasmic solute binding protein. For heterologous exchange of C4-dicarboxylates with other carboxylic acids (such as citrate:succinate by CitT) further types of carriers are used. The different families of C4-dicarboxylate carriers, the biochemistry of the transport reactions, and their metabolic functions are described. Many bacteria contain membraneous C4-dicarboxylate sensors which control the synthesis of enzymes for C4-dicarboxylate metabolism. The C4-dicarboxylate sensors DcuS, DctB, and DctS are histidine protein kinases and belong to different families of two-component systems. They contain periplasmic domains presumably involved in C4-dicarboxylate sensing. In DcuS the periplasmic domain seems to be essential for direct interaction with the C4-dicarboxylates. In signal perception by DctB, interaction of the C4-dicarboxylates with DctB and the DctA carrier plays an important role.

Quintuple mutants of Escherichia coli deficient in the C4-dicarboxylate carriers of aerobic and anaerobic metabolism (DctA, DcuA, DcuB, DcuC, and the DcuC homolog DcuD, or the citrate/succinate antiporter CitT) showed only poor growth on succinate (or other C4-dicarboxylates) under oxic conditions. At acidic pH (pH 6) the mutants regained aerobic growth on succinate, but not on fumarate. Succinate uptake by the mutants could not be saturated at physiological succinate concentrations (≤5 mM), in contrast to the wild-type, which had a K m for succinate of 50 µM and a V max of 35 U/g dry weight at pH 6. At high substrate concentrations, the mutants showed transport activities (32 U/g dry weight) comparable to that of the wild-type. In the wild-type using DctA as the carrier, succinate uptake had a pH optimum of 6, whereas succinate uptake in the mutants was maximal at pH 5. In the mutants succinate uptake was inhibited competitively by monocarboxylic acids. Diffusion of succinate or fumarate across phospholipid membranes (liposomes) was orders of magnitude slower than the transport in the wild-type or the mutants. The data suggest that mutants deficient in DctA, DcuA, DcuB, DcuC, DcuD (or CitT) contain a carrier, possibly a monocarboxylate carrier, which is able to transport succinate, but not fumarate, at acidic pH, when succinate is present as a monoanion. Succinate uptake by this carrier was inhibited by addition of an uncoupler. Growth by fumarate respiration (requiring fumarate/succinate antiport) was also lost in the quintuple mutants, and growth was not restored at pH 6. In contrast, the efflux of succinate produced during glucose fermentation was not affected in the mutants, demonstrating that, for succinate efflux, a carrier different from, or in addition to, the known Dcu and CitT carriers is used.

The membrane fraction of Bacillus subtilis catalyzes the reduction of fumarate to succinate by NADH. The activity is inhibited by low concentrations of 2-(heptyl)-4-hydroxyquinoline-N-oxide (HOQNO), an inhibitor of succinate: quinone reductase. In sdh or aro mutant strains, which lack succinate dehydrogenase or menaquinone, respectively, the activity of fumarate reduction by NADH was missing. In resting cells fumarate reduction required glycerol or glucose as the electron donor, which presumably supply NADH for fumarate reduction. Thus in the bacteria, fumarate reduction by NADH is catalyzed by an electron transport chain consisting of NADH dehydrogenase (NADH:menaquinone reductase), menaquinone, and succinate dehydrogenase operating in the reverse direction (menaquinol:fumarate reductase). Poor anaerobic growth of B. subtilis was observed when fumarate was present. The fumarate reduction catalyzed by the bacteria in the presence of glycerol or glucose was not inhibited by the protonophore carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone (CCCP) or by membrane disruption, in contrast to succinate oxidation by O2. Fumarate reduction caused the uptake by the bacteria of the tetraphenyphosphonium cation (TPP+) which was released after fumarate had been consumed. TPP+ uptake was prevented by the presence of CCCP or HOQNO, but not by N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, an inhibitor of ATP synthase. From the TPP+ uptake the electrochemical potential generated by fumarate reduction was calculated (Deltapsi = -132 mV) which was comparable to that generated by glucose oxidation with O2 (Deltapsi = -120 mV). The Deltapsi generated by fumarate reduction is suggested to stem from menaquinol:fumarate reductase functioning in a redox half-loop.

The dcuD gene (formerly yhcL) of Escherichia coli shows significant sequence similarity only to the dcuC gene of E. coli, which encodes a C4-dicarboxylate carrier (DcuC) that functions during anaerobic growth. Inactivation of dcuD had no effect on the growth of E. coli under a large number of conditions and led to no detectable changes in phenotype. Translational dcuD'-'lacZ gene fusions were not significantly expressed in the presence of dicarboxylates or monocarboxylates under oxic or anoxic conditions. Other potential substrates such as amino sugar derivatives, amino acids, and alpha-aspartyl dipeptides also did not lead to expression of dcuD. Changes in medium composition, pH, ionic strength, and temperature had no significant effects on dcuD expression. A dcuD gene amplified from a natural isolate of E. coli was not expressed in wild-type and E. coli K-12 backgrounds. Cloning of dcuD behind an inducible promoter resulted in the synthesis of a protein of the expected size (49 kDa), which, however, did not complement for the loss of DcuC or other C4-dicarboxylate carriers. It is suggested that dcuD encodes a protein of the DcuC family of anaerobic C4-dicarboxylate carriers and that dcuD is not significantly expressed or is expressed only under conditions not related to carboxylate metabolism. When two adjacent open reading frames (y0585 and y0586) from Haemophilus influenzae are fused, the resulting hypothetical protein has sequence similarity to DcuC and DcuD.

The dcuC gene of Escherichia coli encodes an alternative C 4 -dicarboxylate carrier (DcuC) with low transport activity. The expression of dcuC was investigated. dcuC was expressed only under anaerobic conditions; nitrate and fumarate caused slight repression and stimulation of expression, respectively. Anaerobic induction depended mainly on the transcriptional regulator FNR. Fumarate stimulation was independent of the fumarate response regulator DcuR. The expression of dcuC was not significantly inhibited by glucose, assigning a role to DcuC during glucose fermentation. The inactivation of dcuC increased fumarate-succinate exchange and fumarate uptake by DcuA and DcuB, suggesting a preferential function of DcuC in succinate efflux during glucose fermentation. Upon overexpression in a dcuC promoter mutant ( dcuC *), DcuC was able to compensate for DcuA and DcuB in fumarate-succinate exchange and fumarate uptake.

The structure of the water-soluble, periplasmic domain of the fumarate sensor DcuS (DcuS-pd) has been determined by NMR spectroscopy in solution. DcuS is a prototype for a sensory histidine kinase with transmembrane signal transfer. DcuS belongs to the CitA family of sensors that are specific for sensing di- and tricarboxylates. The periplasmic domain is folded autonomously and shows helices at the N and the C terminus, suggesting direct linking or connection to helices in the two transmembrane regions. The structure constitutes a novel fold. The nearest structural neighbor is the Per-Arnt-Sim domain of the photoactive yellow protein that binds small molecules covalently. Residues Arg107, His110, and Arg147 are essential for fumarate sensing and are found clustered together. The structure constitutes the first periplasmic domain of a two component sensory system and is distinctly different from the aspartate sensory domain of the Tar chemotaxis sensor.